NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Xander Schauffele remembers the feeling. It was like trying to unlock a door in darkness. Schauffele spent years hovering at the top of major leaderboards. Always there but never the last man standing. Sometimes he got beaten, but often mistakes did him in.
“Early on, I felt like there were times where 9 or 12 holes would pass, and I’m like holy smokes, I’m like five over par, like the whole what-is-happening thing,” Schauffele said Saturday at the PGA Championship at Aronimink. “I’d call those growing pains. Everyone goes through them. Everyone deals with it.”
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Then came the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla, when Schauffele finally kicked down the door to become a major champion. Two months later, he triumphed at the Open. One win unlocking another.
Ever since, Schauffele has felt different at majors. “It would be crazy not to,” he says. An injury led to a performance dip in 2025, but he arrived at the 2026 PGA at Aronimink feeling close to where he was when he outlasted everyone at Valhalla and ran away from the field on Sunday at Royal Troon.
He jumped into contention out of the gates in Philadelphia with a first-round two-under 68. But he followed it with a 73 in easier conditions on Friday to find himself five off the lead entering the weekend. Schauffele finished with a birdie and then went directly to the range for a late lesson with his coach, Chris Como. The results were clear Saturday as Schauffele took advantage of a more gettable Aronimink, shooting four under to get within three of Alex Smalley’s 54-hole lead. Schauffele is one of 10 players within three of the lead; 30 players are within five.
The combination of wind, sloping greens and diabolical pins has led to a jam-packed leaderboard that promises high drama on Sunday.
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“I called it an absolute free-for-all, you know what I mean?” Schauffele said Saturday evening. “Just the way the course plays, I mean, someone early goes and shoots something six, seven under, they might just have a chance to win the whole thing, depending on how windy it gets out there. So with that in mind, try to really stay in my lane with [caddie Austin Kaiser] and control what we can control.”
There are a number of major champions atop the board. Jon Rahm is two back. Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed are tied with Schauffele. Justin Rose is four back, along with Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Smith. Scottie Scheffler is five behind. But it’s also a leaderboard full of players who have never experienced a Sunday major cauldron. Smalley’s best major finish is a T23 at the 2023 PGA. Nick Taylor, Matti Schmid and Aaron Rai, all of whom are tied for second along with Rahm, have a combined zero top 10s in the majors.
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Schauffele will enter Sunday with an advantage over most of the chasers — Rahm, McIlroy, Rose and Reed notwithstanding. In golf, you don’t know what you don’t know. But once you know it, it can make all the difference.
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“I have some experience to draw on. That’s really what it is,” Schauffele said. “If you’re not in contention, you know, good luck drawing on any experience. You’re just trying to stay positive and give yourself a chance.”
Asked about his major growing pains, the near-misses at U.S. Opens and the Masters that stacked up, Schauffele talked about how fast things can move when the pressure ratchets up, and how hard it is to regrip the wheel once you start to skid. What those scars — and eventual major wins — taught him is how to steady himself when everything around him is spinning.
“I think if you can control your ball and hit certain shots, it will definitely give you that confidence, but no matter how great of golf you’re playing, you’ll see anyone slip up at certain moments,” Schauffele said. “The best always seem to collect themselves in the toughest moments.”
Sunday at Aronimink will be anyone’s game. The test will demand precise answers. Major championships normally do. Schauffele will start the round behind but with an edge on a large portion of the leaderboard who will be experiencing true major pressure for the first time.
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He is comfortable in the moment. On a chaotic Sunday that will be decided on the margins, that might be enough for Schauffele to be the one who passes the exam.
“Come tomorrow, there’s going to be 25, 30 guys within striking distance with 9 to 10 holes to play,” Schauffele said. “It’s going to be great to watch as a fan, but as a player, it’s pretty stressful, and you’ve really got to lock in. So if I can lean back on any experience I have, I will.”
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